Promises to Keep
by fire-goddess6
Summary: There's been an accident . . ." and with those four words and Inuyasha's life is changed forever. Now his custody is in the hands of a human whose daughter he just can't seem to get along with . . . AU InuKag
1. Default Chapter

"There's been an accident . . ." and with those four words Inuyasha's life is forever changed. Now his custody belongs to a human whose daughter that he just can't seem to get along with . . .

**Promises to Keep**

**Chapter 1- The Accident **

By firegoddess

Asami Higurashi sighed contently as she pulled the chair out from the kitchen table and sat down with her cup of tea. Two paper bag lunches sat on the counter, ready for their owners. Asami enjoyed the moments before she woke the children because kami knew there would be no quiet after those two had awaken.

The thirty-year-old woman took a deep sip from her tea and fiddled with the crane pendant on her necklace that her husband had given to her on their first anniversary. It was one of the only presents Asami had received from the late Yosho that she truly liked. She had loved her husband very much but he genuinely did not know how to gift shop. Ironically, Asami's best friend, Izayoi, had told Yosho buy it. Izayoi's husband had bought her a pendant similar to Asami's years before.

The oven timer went off with a low beep, signaling the time to wake the house's younger occupants. The elder woman bit her lip at the news to which she had to inform her two children. They had been invited to dinner at Izayoi's and while the children loved Izayoi and her husband, Inutashio, Kagome most certainly did not get along with the couple's youngest child, Inuyasha.

Asami stood and turned off the oven timer. She turned to make her way up the stairs when the telephone started to ring shrilly.

With a huff of annoyance, Asami corrected her earlier destination and answered the phone. Whoever dared call at seven in the morning better have a good excuse . . .

"Hello?"

"Is this the Higurashi residence?" said an unrecognized voice.

"Yes, it is. Who is calling?"

"Are you Asami Higurashi?"

"Yes, I am. What is all this about?" asked Asami irately.

"You are the Godmother of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha Tashio, are you not?"

Asami gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. In a worried voice she barely recognized as her own, she answered, vaguely remembering the call she had received that had informed her of her husband's death.

"What had happened to their parents?"

"There's been an accident."

Sesshomaru had seen his Aunt Asami park her car in the drive way. His parent's car was still absent regardless of the fact they had called and said they would be home last night. Despite the 17-year-old's better judgment, Sesshomaru assured himself that his father had decided to stay at the hunting lodge a day more.

The Inuyoukai unconsciously sniffed the air to make sure Inuyasha was still asleep. The 10 year-old hanyou always slept late when his mother wasn't around. If not for their Aunt Asami's arrival, Inuyasha would have stayed in his room all day to avoid a certain impending guest.

Sesshomaru didn't know what his half-brother despised about Aunt Asami's 9-year-old daughter, but it was enough to put him in a very foul mood and keep him that way.

Sesshomaru reached the hallway and waved the butler away impatiently. He opened the door before Asami had a chance to reach the walkway and stepped out onto the porch to meet her.

"Aunt Asami," greeted Sesshomaru politely. He noted the human's puffy eyes and her slightly swollen lip. His Aunt had a habit of biting her lip when she was upset.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, my dear," she replied quietly, stopping slightly in front of the young man in front of her. Sesshomaru was Inutashio's child from a previous marriage that had ended quite badly. The Inuyoukai acknowledged no other mother but Izayoi because of it.

Asami smiled gently at him and tried to give a look a reassurance.

"This is about my parents, isn't it?" he replied coolly, his stoic mask falling into place. Asami watched as his features became cold and emotionless but said nothing. He would mourn later. For now he had to be strong, for both himself and his younger brother.

Inuyasha understood that his parents were gone. He knew they were dead. What he didn't understand was why he was being forced to sit between his Aunt Asami and brother to listen to a couple of guys in suits ramble on about his parent's will. What did it matter? They were gone.

Sesshomaru tapped his claws on the large mahogany table and stared at the four lawyers sitting across from them. The only one he recognized was Myouga who had been a close family friend for more years then he'd been alive. The small flea demon sat silently between the three humans, allowing them to list the multiple benefactors from the will.

Asami reached over and laid her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder very briefly before replacing her hand in her lap. Inuyasha acknowledge the contact and shifted slightly, finding an odd reassurance in her touch.

". . . And that brings us to the guardianship of the deceased's children," the human ended, looking towards the flea demon for clarification.

Myouga chin barely reached the table as he collected his papers and cleared his throat. As if it were some signal, the human lawyers stood and left the room. "That's better," muttered the flea demon before addressing the thee sitting across from him.

"As I'm sure you are aware, Asami-sama, Izayoi and Inutashio left Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in your custody."

Asami nodded and waited for Myouga to continue. "While everything would be quite clean cut from here on, we can not ignore the large inheritance left behind."

Inuyasha didn't even glance up at the mention of the inheritance. Sesshomaru issued a growl of annoyance and voiced his question. "Wouldn't the money be entrusted to Aunt Asami until Inuyasha and I reach the age of 18?"

"Well," toddled Myouga, "Traditionally, yes, but I'm afraid Inutashio-sama was not the most traditional person."

"What does the will say?" demanded Sesshomaru, his mask slipping slightly.

Myouga gave a small grunt and removed a piece of paper from his briefcase. "The money will be entrusted to Asami-sama, as you assumed, Sesshomaru-san, but there are conditions, I'm afraid. Until you come of age, Sesshomaru-san, you must remain with Asami-sama in her household."

Sesshomaru nodded and prodded Myouga to continue. "After you turn 18 next month, you will be allowed a fraction of your inheritance to pay for your educational costs when you attend college in the fall. You will receive the remainder of the inheritance when you turn 21 and fulfilled certain . . . prerequisites."

"Very well," agreed Sesshomaru. "And Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha raised his head slightly at his name and glared at Myouga over the table. Myouga cleared his throat over the young hanyou's glared and continued on with the will. "Inuyasha-san will also receive a fraction of his inheritance when he turns 18 and the remainder of it when he turns 21. However, Inuyasha-san has a few restrictions requested by Izayoi-sama."

"What are those?" asked Asami.

"He must complete his college education and receive, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in a field of study of his choosing. He will also remain under your guardianship and remain a dependent until he receives a degree and acquires a steady job."

Asami nodded and shot Inuyasha a gentle smile. The hanyou sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Is that everything?" asked Sesshomaru.

"One more thing," continued Myouga.

"What is it?" asked Asami.

"In the event that either Sesshomaru-san or Inuyasha-san _mate_ before they reach their 21st birthday, they are automatically afforded half of their inheritance to be used at Asami-sama's discretion."

Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms. "Mate? Are you crazy?"

"Does that apply to a human marriage as well?" asked Asami.

"Human marriage is void concerning this circumstance," replied Myouga.

Sesshomaru nodded and stood from his chair. "I assume that is all?"

Myouga grunted and jumped down from his chair, disappearing from view for a moment before walking around the table. "Good luck, Asami-sama. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

The three watched Myouga leave the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Sesshomaru ran a hand through his hair and shook his head lightly. "When will you have us move in, Aunt Asami?" asked Sesshomaru.

"As soon as possible," replied Asami, without hesitation.

"What about our house?" asked Inuyasha.

"We'll sell it," said Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha muttered something intelligible and looked up at Asami. "Is there enough room for us at your house?"

Asami nodded. "Yes, but I'm afraid someone will be sharing a room. I have an empty guest bedroom so either the two of you can share the room or one of you can bunk with Souta."

"Inuyasha will share a room with Souta," Sesshomaru replied automatically. "When I leave for college in three months, then Inuyasha can have his own room."

"Why don't you just have everyone move into the mansion?" asked Inuyasha disparately.

Asami shook her head and smiled gently. "The shrine will do for our little family, Inuyasha. Now, why don't we get a head start on moving your things?"

Kagome stared out the window and ignored her grandfather's calls. She was supposed to be helping Souta clean his room but the nine-year-old was more concerned with when the new occupants of the house would appear.

Jii-chan had explained to her the best he could that there had been an accident and Aunt Izayoi and Uncle Inutashio had died. After a long crying session with Buyo who had watched her curiously the whole time, Kagome had dried her eyes long enough for Jii-chan to inform her on the status of her two 'cousins.'

Kagome had burst into tears all over again at the news that Inuyasha would be coming to live with them, permanently. She had decided to make an effort, however. Memories of her father's death lingered and she knew that both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru would be hurting. She knew what it was like to lose one parent. Kagome couldn't imagine being without her mother as well.

It had been three days since their mother had left to stay at the mansion to help Inuyasha and Sesshomaru pack their stuff. The funeral had been yesterday and had been restricted to close family friends. Neither Izayoi or Inutashio had any biological family to speak of, so the number of attendants could be counted on two hands.

It didn't matter that Kagome had seen her mother just this morning. She was still upset that the boys were getting so much attention. She was glad, however, that her mother had taken her out of school for the next few days. The teacher hadn't been very happy about it at first, but after hearing about the death of close friends the teacher had decided to excuse Kagome from all the work she missed. Souta didn't have to worry about missing any work due to the fact he was only in Daycare.

Jii-chan scowled at Kagome when he saw her sitting idle by the window. "Kagome, child! You are supposed to be readying the house for your new brothers!"

Kagome visibly winced and shook her head. "They're not my brothers!"

Jii-chan sighed and sat down beside the young girl. She had crossed her arms and turned her head towards the window. "Now where did this come from?" Jii-chan asked gently, realizing the sore subject.

"Inuyasha isn't my brother," she said again, very quietly. "Just because he's an orphan now and he's living in the same house don't make him my brother."

The old man sighed, for once feeling his age. "No, you're right. It doesn't make him your brother. Is that what you're really upset about? That everyone will say he is now your brother?"

Kagome shook her head and finally looked up at her grandfather. "No. I just . . . why did they have to die?"

Jii-chan was silent for a moment before offering another smile and wiping the lone tear that had snaked down Kagome's cheek. "Sometimes bad things happen in this world and we have no choice then to keep moving on. Now your Mama, she made a promise to your Aunt and Uncle. She promised to take care of their children if anything ever happened to them. Well, something happened and now your Mama is making good on her promise. She's going to take care of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru and we're going to help because that's what family is for."

Kagome nodded and leaned her forehead on the glass of the window. The area around the window was the coldest spot in the house due to the winter snow. Kagome shivered but didn't move away. She had to wait for her mother. She had made a promise too, she thought as she fingered the crane pendant on her charm bracelet. A promise she intended to keep.


	2. Acceptance

**Promises to Keep**

**Chapter 2- Acceptance **

By firegoddess

Kagome buried her head underneath her pillow, desperately trying to ignore the racket coming from **his **room. It happened every Saturday morning. Mama would leave for her morning appointments and Jii-chan would be out of the house to care for the shrine and that's when **he'd** strike.

The music would escalate after each song until Kagome just couldn't stand it any longer and she resorted to banging on **his** door until he decided it was time for his morning shower. It happened every Saturday without fail but today Kagome decided to do things a little differently.

If she had to be completely honest with herself, the idea had originally been **his**. But then being completely honest certainly wasn't on the agenda today.

At 17, Kagome had gone from innocent and naive to conniving and sneaky. She had thought her plan out for days before she deemed it fool-proof, meaning **he** wouldn't screw it up.

Kagome waited for an hour before the music finally switched off and a moment later running water could be heard from the shower. Now was her chance.

With as much grace as humanly possible, Kagome grabbed a small box of supplies and rushed to **his** room. She had five minute**s **at least to put her plan into action.

_Five minutes later . . ._

"It's a pity his hair is so long," Kagome smiled to herself wickedly. "It just takes forever to get all the conditioner out." She stalked to the downstairs bathroom and without a moment's hesitation, flushed the toilet.

"Five, four, three, two, one . . ." Kagome's smile only widened when a yelp could be heard from the upstairs bathroom.

The water shut off a moment later and the door to the bathroom opened only to be shut forcefully.

"KAGOME!"

Desperately she tried to wipe the smile off her face as she watched the hanyou stalk down the stairs and towards the couch where she had braced herself when it seemed laughter was inevitable.

"Is there something wrong, _Inuyasha_?" she asked as innocently as possible, but even if he couldn't smell her lies, the smile that refused to disappear gave her all away.

Inuyasha glared at the human in front of him. His waist length hair had been rinsed, thankfully, but his upper half was still covered in soap suds. Inuyasha knew she had been up to something when Kagome hadn't started banging on his door to shut off the music. When the water temperature had suddenly dropped he rushed out of the bathroom, barely pausing to wrap a towel around his waist, to find the girl that dared torment him.

"Yeah, there's something wrong," he replied angrily. "But of course, helpless human that you are, you're too stupid to understand!"

A giggle escaped from Kagome but she valiantly held it in. Inuyasha always pulled the 'stupid human' card when her mother wasn't around. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha," she replied, but her tone was anything but sincere. "Are you done with the bathroom now? I would like to take a bath."

Inuyasha growled low in his throat before stalking upstairs and shutting his bedroom door behind him with a loud 'bang.'

"Three, two, one . . ." Kagome waited for it and of course Inuyasha didn't fail to disappoint.

"BITCH!"

"I just love Saturdays," Kagome hummed to herself as she went upstairs to starther bath.

break

Asami knew this would be a day to remember as she set the table for lunch. She had received two very interesting packets in the mail today and with the two eldest children graduating next month, Asami had a faint idea what those two packets were.

Souta came into the kitchen and took his place at the table, yawning as he watched his mother prepare lunch.

"Why are you so tired dear?" his mother asked when Souta rubbed his eyes. "Did you stay up late last night?"

"No," muttered Souta, a small frown forming. "Kagome and Inuyasha are at it again."

"How is that any different from normal?" she asked with a smile. After eight years of living together, the pair still refused to get along.

"I think Kagome actually got the upper hand on Inuyasha for once," her youngest replied, scratching his head.

"Feh. She'd like to think so," argued Inuyasha as he sat down at the time next to Souta.

"What did she do this time?" asked Asami lightly amused.

"Nothin' worth mentioning," replied the hanyou heatedly.

"That's not what you were saying this morning, dog-boy," Kagome said happily as she breezed into the kitchen as sat across from Souta.

"You seem like you're in a good mood this morning," her mother observed.

"I feel wonderful," Kagome agreed. "Did I get anything in the mail today, Mama?"

Asami nodded and sat down next to her daughter. Jii-chan wouldn't be in to eat lunch until later. "Yes, dear. Both you and Inuyasha got a packet, but let's wait until after lunch to open them, okay honey?"

Kagome nodded and started to eat. No one bothered to make any conversation at lunch and everyone ate silently until Kagome proclaimed she was done and wanted her mail.

"Sure, dear," replied Asami, walking to the counter to put away her dishes before pulling out the two manila envelopes. "This one is yours," she handed it to Kagome. "And this is yours," she handed the other to Inuyasha.

The two glared at each other for a moment before simultaneously ripping the envelopes open and looking inside.

Heart pounding, Kagome read the top paper of the envelope. Her eyes scanned the words, barely pausing until she reached the word she was searching for. "Accepted!" she squealed, hugging her mother tightly before looking at the paper again to assure herself it wasn't a dream.

"I'm accepted, I'm accepted!" she chanted. "I'll be attending Miyu college in the fall!"

"What did you say?" Inuyasha asked harshly, breaking Kagome out of her chant.

Kagome looked over at the hanyou who calmly held the papers in his manila envelope in his clawed hands. She wasn't the least intimidated by his tone and stuck her nose in the air. "I was accepted to Miyu college."

"What does your paper say?" asked Asami gently, directing Inuyasha's attention towards her.

"I was accepted to Miyu college," he replied, once again turning to glare at Kagome.

break

Sesshomaru came to visit three days before Inuyasha and Kagome's graduation. Since Inuyasha had refused to give up his room to his elder brother, and Sesshomaru was not willing to take Asami's or Kagome's room when they offered, the Inuyoukai resorted to staying at a motel down the street. Not that he was disappointed, no. Sesshomaru didn't particularly enjoy being awaken by his yelling younger brother or a screaming Kagome, which was the wake-up call on most days.

_You'd think after eight years those two would grow up_, he thought absently as he climbed the shrine stairs. Jii-chan was waiting for him at the top.

"Sesshomaru, my boy! How have you been? I haven't seen you since December!" the old man greeted, patting him on the back.

Sesshomaru offered the human a smile and nodded. "I have been quite well, thank you. I'm glad to see the shrine is still standing."

Jii-chan nodded before shaking his head in Sesshomaru's silent statement. "Yes, well let's say I'm glad Kagome and Inuyasha haven't resorted to more that screaming matches though last month Kagome through all of Inuyasha's pants out his window and poured itching powder between his sheets."

"How did she manage that? I'm sure my brother would have sensed her going into his room. His senses aren't that _bad_," Sesshomaru asked curiously, though his tone said he didn't think much of his brother's abilities.

"Kagome waited until Inuyasha was in the shower. Then after she was done she flushed the down stairs toilet just to get Inuyasha so riled up he didn't realize she had been in his room."

"Well, she certainly has gotten cunning."

"Inuyasha got her back, though."

"Oh?"

"Yes. The week after he put dye in the shampoo so Kagome's had pink hair for the last two weeks. The last of the dye just washed out."

Sesshomaru sighed and shook his head. "Those two will be the death of each other."

"Yes, well, wait until you hear where they'll be attending school."

break

Kagome didn't look up when the kitchen door opened. She was much too busy arguing on the phone. "You can't be serious," she asked, looking over her housing papers.

"I'm sorry Ms. Higurashi, but we have little room to begin with. The students who applied first were given housing priority."

"But . . . I . . . how can I afford to live off-campus?"

"Again, I'm very sorry Ms. Higurashi, but you _and _your brother will have to look elsewhere. You both mailed your applications too late, I'm afraid."

"He's NOT my brother!"

"Again, sorry." The line went dead.

"WHAT THE HELL!" screamed Kagome, slamming the phone down and giving the table a hard kick . . . which only succeeded in stubbing her toe.

"Shit," Kagome muttered to herself, nursing her abused toe.

"I see my brother has rubbed off on you," observed Sesshomaru as Jii-chan fished a soda out of the fridge and tossed it to him.

"Hey, Sess," Kagome smiled though the expression was pained.

"What was all that about?" asked Jii-chan. He had long gotten over the fact that his sweet and precious Kagome knew such words as 'hell' and 'shit' though her mother would throw a fit if she knew Kagome had been using that kind of language.

"They said there isn't any room on campus for me and that I'll have to find somewhere else to live," grumbled Kagome, leaning against the chair and glaring at the phone.

"It sounded like that was the case for Inuyasha as well," observed Sesshomaru.

"Yeah . . ." Kagome scowled. "We put in our applications too late because we hadn't really planned on going to school till the spring. Then mama said we had to apply to at least one school so we did . . . and yeah. Since we got accepted Mama said we were obligated to go."

"You are?" asked the Inuyoukai, rising an eyebrow. Asami wasn't the type to force her children into anything they didn't want to do.

"Well, sorta. Myouga-sama informed Mama recently that Inuyasha had to start college in the fall if he didn't want to lose his inheritance."

"And that motivated my brother?"

"No. It wasn't until after he heard the money would go to you that he turned in an application."

"Ahh, yes, well that explains it," he agreed. "But why did you apply as well?"

Kagome snorted and crossed her arms. "Like I'm gonna let dog-boy get ahead of me! If I had known he was apply to Miyu though . . . man! Now I regret only applying to one school."

"Oh come on," said Asami as she entered the room. "It won't be that bad." She smiled at Kagome before walking up to Sesshomaru and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I hope your flight here was pleasant. How is your company doing?"

Sesshomaru had taken over his father's old company when he had turn twenty-three. Now, two years later, it was as strong as it had been when his father was still alive. "Very well, thank you."

"Myouga-san informed me that you've made a profit about double what your inheritance was, and your inheritance wasn't a small sum to begin with!" Asami said admirably. "Your father would be so proud of you!"

Sesshomaru smiled lightly and took a sip of his soda. "Kagome told me you had talked to Myouga recently," he said leadingly.

"Yes," Asami nodded and sat beside Kagome at the table. "Apparently there were certain 'conditions' that he was not allowed to inform us of until recently."

"And that would be Inuyasha must attend college this fall?"

"Yes."

"So I gather both Inuyasha and Kagome will be attending Miyu?"

"Not intentionally," muttered Kagome.

Asami smiled and patted Kagome's hand lightly. "If two would just stop fighting long enough to have a decent conversation then you would have known which schools you were each applying to." Kagome muttered under her breath and slumped in her seat.

Her mother smiled again before looking over at Kagome's Housing Forms. "Have you heard back about housing yet?"

Kagome gave a very human growled and nodded. "It's a no go, Mama. They said our applications were turned in too late for us to have first priority and to seek housing off campus."

"Oh." Asami's face visibly fell and she bit her lip out of habit.

"Don't worry," Sesshomaru replied lightly. "I'm sure something can be arranged."

"I won't take handouts," Kagome said automatically. Since Sesshomaru had received his inheritance he had continually tried to pay back the family for their continual help and support. Any attempts that included money, however, were repeatedly shot down.

"I wasn't referring to paying for it myself," Sesshomaru stated. "There is a program that specializes in finding apartments for college students. You would most likely end up sharing with a multitude of students but its affordable for both you and my brother."

"What do you mean?" asked Inuyasha as he entered the room. "Wouldn't my inheritance cover living expenses?"

"Ah . . . no," Asami piped up. "It only covers tuition."

"WHAT!"

Kagome frowned at him, never mind she had been in a similar state only moments before. Dismissing Inuyasha from her thoughts she turned back to Sesshomaru with new determination.

"What's this program called?"

Sesshomaru smiled for a second before answering. "Houshi's Helping Hands."


End file.
